‘The upgraded requirements forced
engineers at General Dynamics to
again reconsider twin tails in a variety
of locations, including out on pods on
the wing. The trailing edge of the wing
and the control surfaces were cut into
chevrons aligned with the leading edge,
giving the wing a bat-like look. In the end,
no acceptable location for the twin tails
was found, and the design was submitted
with a single centreline tail and a serrated
trailing edge. The new final configuration
was labeled T-333.’THE LOCKHEED DESIGN
Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics
had formed a team in July 1986 to
collaboratively tackle ATF from a design
and financial standpoint — two months
after the USAF said it would want to
build and fly ATF prototypes. Despite
its selection for the DEM/VAL stage, the
Lockheed design subsequently changed
dramatically — indeed the designers
literally went back to the drawing board.
Lockheed’s winning design clearly
resembled the F-117, but a succession of
changes followed and by April 1998 the
final YF-22 design was locked down and
the first drawings were formally released.
Construction of the first of the two YF-22s
began in Fort Worth, Texas. Production ofthe forward fuselage began at Lockheed
facilities in Burbank. The aft section
and wings took shape during the same
timeframe at Boeing facilities in Seattle.
The centre fuselage, weapons bays, tail
and landing gear were built by General
Dynamics. The eventual acquisition of
General Dynamics gave Lockheed Martin
control of 67.5 per cent of the programme.
The various sections of the prototypes
came together in Palmdale, California after
shipping by C-5A Galaxy as the SkunkWorks took the lead for assembly of the
two YF-22 prototypes. Final assembly of
the first YF-22 (Prototype Air Vehicle, PAV-1)
began at Palmdale on January 13, 1990.
The designs of the two competing teams
were not revealed until shortly before the
first flights. The first PAV-1 was unveiled
to the public on August 29, 1990, at the
Skunk Works.
Northrop’s YF-23 was first to fly on
August 27, 1990. The first YF-22 (N22YF)
followed on September 29, piloted byAbove: The first
YF-22 was rolled
out at Palmdale
on August 29,
1990.
Right: PAV-1 in
final assembly
at Palmdale,
California.RAPTOR^096-15 YF-22 Development C.indd 9 28/09/2017 16: